After that, Jun Huailang continued going to the construction site every day. Because he was so busy with his work, he even sent away the intimidating Imperial Guards stationed outside his door.
Even so, no one dared approach his quarters over the next few days. Even the lower-ranking officials who came to report on their work did so with extreme caution.
Everyone began saying that the Heir of the Duke of Yongning apparently wasn’t actually as easygoing as he seemed. They had only heard that Guangling Prince was violent and ruthless; they hadn’t expected this Heir to be much better.
In the end, he was probably just an ordinary young master from an aristocratic family, with the domineering habits typical of someone born into a prestigious household. As long as nothing happened, that was fine. But if anyone dared cause him trouble, he would no longer bother reasoning with them.
Thus, everyone became exceedingly cautious, afraid of provoking him at such a critical moment.
Jun Huailang didn’t pay the slightest attention to it.
In his previous life, he had always been someone who treasured his reputation above all else. Not only would he never do anything that compromised his virtue, he wouldn’t even touch anything that might give others reason to misunderstand him.
After all, for a scholar, the most important thing was reputation—the name one would leave behind in the history books a hundred years after one’s death.
But now he knew that no matter how spotless a reputation was, it could not save a person’s life.
Sometimes, it could even cost them their life.
The things those scholars valued most were sometimes the very things that were worth the least.
His father did come to see him once.
The Duke of Yongning entered the room where he worked. He said nothing, merely sitting down and having a cup of tea with him.
After finishing the tea, the Duke of Yongning said calmly, “You handled this matter well. After spending so much time in Jinling and going through all this, you’ve grown quite a bit.”
Jun Huailang looked at him.
His father continued, “It’s just that I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.”
Jun Huailang was somewhat puzzled.
“Father?”
The Duke of Yongning paused and looked at him. His tone remained calm and cool, but there was a clumsy softness hidden within it.
“I always feel that you and Xiaowu will forever be children,” he said. “I’ve always told you both to keep a low profile and hold to the middle path. I only wanted you to live out your lives peacefully under the protection of the Duke’s Estate. That would have been enough.”
He paused before continuing.
“…Yet I can’t help wanting you to learn more and accomplish more. Now, I no longer know what choice I should make.”
Jun Huailang knew that his father himself had always been struggling between these two paths.
Their family held a prestigious hereditary title, so when it came to the political world, they had to be even more cautious, never daring to make a single wrong move.
His father had always possessed considerable talent for governance and administration, yet because of their circumstances, he had spent his entire life accomplishing little.
Now that he had finally been given the opportunity to come to Jinling, although he remained cautious and fearful, Jun Huailang could also see that his father was genuinely happy for once.
Governing the realm and helping the people—these were things he had always wanted to do, yet had never dared to pursue.
If it had been his previous life, perhaps Jun Huailang himself would not have been able to say whether his father’s way of living was right or wrong.
But now he knew.
When someone wanted to harm them, their prestigious family background would be of no use.
Keeping their heads down and hiding their talents would be of no use either.
The only option was to meet them head-on and confront those who wanted to harm them.
Thinking of this, Jun Huailang looked at his father and gave him a gentle yet resolute smile.
“Father, aren’t you finally doing what you’ve always wanted to do?” he said.
The Duke of Yongning looked at him.
Jun Huailang smiled faintly.
“That is enough. Like you, your son also wants to do what he wishes to do. As for whatever difficulties I may encounter… I want to give it a try. I also want to truly stand up on my own and protect the people I want to protect.”
The Duke of Yongning looked at him in silence for a moment.
Then he revealed a smile so faint it was almost imperceptible, yet it warmed all his cold, hard features.
“It’s good that you can think this way,” he said.
——
Jun Huailang waited quietly.
During these days, because of the buildings damaged earlier, the workload at the embankment had increased considerably.
Jun Huailang acted as though he knew nothing about it, allowing the laborers to work until late every night while their wages remained at half their previous amount.
Sure enough, complaints gradually began spreading throughout the construction site.
The official in charge even came specifically to report the matter to Jun Huailang.
Not only was he worried—the lower-ranking officials at the embankment were all somewhat panicked as well, afraid that another incident would break out.
Jun Huailang, however, showed not the slightest sign of urgency.
“It’s fine,” he said. “Just wait. Remember, if anything happens, simply run. Don’t try to stop them. Remember that?”
The official could only nod repeatedly.
He thought that this young master was far too bold. How could he possibly say something like that?
He was deliberately provoking the laborers, yet he wasn’t even allowing them to protect themselves. If something really happened, what would they do?
But he didn’t dare ask, and Jun Huailang had no intention of explaining it to him.
After the official withdrew, Jun Huailang quietly looked out the window.
The complaints were inevitable.
But the laborers working here no longer had anything to worry about at home.
Previously, they had to work every day and save up for two or three days just to earn enough for their families to have one proper meal.
But now, the women and children at home were being supported by the government. The money they earned could actually be saved instead.
If that was the case, why would they allow themselves to be incited into causing trouble with the authorities?
That was precisely why complaints had been heard at the construction site every day these past few days, yet nothing had actually happened.
The people would complain along with everyone else, but they were unwilling to join in the trouble.
The people behind this had a mission to accomplish. They wouldn’t wait forever.
So Jun Huailang waited for the day they could no longer stand it.
That day came quickly.
That afternoon, Jun Huailang was still taking his midday nap when he heard a commotion outside.
He had only just sat up when he saw Duan Shisi already leap out.
Jun Huailang knew.
Those people had run out of patience.
Jinbao helped him straighten his clothes and arrange his appearance while saying, “Your Highness, don’t be afraid. You can rest assured. This Duan Shisi is quite extraordinary. Although he doesn’t look much like a normal person most of the time, there isn’t a single thing he can’t handle once he gets to work.”
Jun Huailang couldn’t help letting out a quiet laugh.
“How do you know I’m afraid?”
Jinbao looked at him and gave a sheepish grin.
“It doesn’t show, but this servant just feels that when something like this happens, you must be worried, right?”
Jun Huailang smiled and shook his head.
“How could I be afraid of trouble that I planned myself?”
He looked toward the window, leaving the rest of his thoughts unspoken.
Even he found it somewhat incredible.
By all rights, after taking such a dangerous gamble, he should have been at least a little worried.
But he wasn’t.
The reason he wasn’t worried was somewhat strange—even he found it unbelievable.
It was because the people around him had all been arranged by Xue Yan.
While they were talking, the commotion outside had already died down.
Once Jun Huailang had finished arranging his appearance, he pushed open the door.
The open space outside was already filled with more than a hundred people being forced to kneel.
Jun Huailang’s gaze turned cold.
Sure enough, there were quite a lot of bandits they had arranged to infiltrate the laborers repairing the embankment.
He slowly walked outside.
Not far away, laborers who had gathered to watch the spectacle and officials who had rushed over surrounded the area.
Among them was the very official Jun Huailang had instructed to run if anything happened.
Jun Huailang had told them to leave simply because his quarters were safe. He didn’t want them to suffer any casualties, nor did he want them to interfere with these bandits’ plans.
Now, seeing the middle-aged official standing to one side and wiping sweat from his forehead, Jun Huailang felt a trace of warmth in his heart.
He turned his attention back to the troublemakers kneeling on the ground.
“You came to my residence during the workers’ rest period carrying sticks and other weapons. What exactly were you trying to accomplish?”
Jun Huailang stopped in front of them and spoke calmly.
These men were currently being held down by the well-trained Imperial Guards. Let alone escaping, none of them even dared raise their heads.
The ringleader among them finally lifted his head and shouted, “You’re cutting our wages! Aren’t you forcing us onto a dead end?!”
Jun Huailang gave a cold laugh.
“Forcing you to your deaths?” he said. “I merely wanted to teach you a lesson. Didn’t I provide for your wives, children, and elderly family members?”
Everyone present froze.
Jinbao, standing beside Jun Huailang, immediately raised his voice arrogantly.
“What a pack of ungrateful bastards!”
His voice was loud enough that every laborer watching nearby could hear him clearly.
“Not a single bit of the money deducted from your wages has been touched by His Highness! His Highness even contributed additional funds and gave it all to Magistrate Shen to provide food for your families!” he said. “Jinling is already in such dire straits. Who else do you think could possibly come up with the money to support your families?”
At once, everyone present looked at Jun Huailang in astonishment.
Jun Huailang merely lowered his eyes and looked at the bandit leader who had raised his head.
He had always possessed refined, cold beauty. Now, when he smiled faintly, it was like a flower blooming atop a snow-covered mountain.
The bandit leader understood.
His eyes were clearly telling him:
Sorry. You fell into my trap.
——
That night, Jun Huailang interrogated the prisoners in the jail until late before returning to the Provincial Governor’s Residence.
Just like the previous incident at the academy, nothing useful could be extracted from these people either.
But this was all within Jun Huailang’s expectations.
After all, they were merely people who had been paid to do a job. As long as they were given enough money and someone had leverage over them, they would naturally risk their lives on behalf of their employer.
What Jun Huailang wanted was simply to have them imprisoned.
On the surface, there were only a hundred or so of them.
But mixed among the common people, they were particularly dangerous.
Once they built up enough momentum and used some pretext to incite the crowd, stirring up trouble in Jinling would be incredibly easy.
In his previous life, these people had produced exactly that effect by hiding among the refugees.
In this life, Jun Huailang had trapped them all together at the embankment construction site, found a pretext to strike, and captured them in one sweep.
From now on, the refugee camp would no longer have a protective shield for such people.
As long as Jun Huailang repaired the embankment, all that remained was to wait for Xue Yan to return.
Thinking this, Jun Huailang slept unusually well that night.
But he never expected that before dawn the next morning, the official in charge of the construction site would once again arrive early at the Provincial Governor’s Residence.
These days, Jinbao had been guarding Jun Huailang’s courtyard.
When he saw the official arrive, he spoke with some displeasure.
“What urgent matter is there? It’s still dark. His Highness is resting.”
The official hurriedly said, “It really is urgent! Please inform His Highness! A few days ago, one of the physicians fell ill with a fever. We thought he had merely caught a chill, but he hasn’t recovered after several days…”
“Not only has he failed to recover, quite a few of the laborers have also begun developing fevers. Many of them have already fallen ill!”
Jinbao was startled.
“This is…?”
The official hurriedly said, “An old physician says it may be an epidemic!”
That was strange.
Although flooding in the south was often accompanied by epidemics, that was because floods caused massive casualties. When the dead were not dealt with promptly, combined with prolonged rain and dampness, disease could easily spread.
But Jinling had already been thoroughly cleaned up and organized.
How could an epidemic still have broken out?
Now even Jinbao panicked.
He hurried into Jun Huailang’s room and tried to wake him.
But after calling several times, there was no response.
A sudden sense of unease surged through Jinbao.
He quickly stepped forward and hurriedly lifted the bed curtains.
Inside the brocade curtains, Jun Huailang’s face was flushed, his breathing scorching hot.
He had already developed a high fever.